“Caminata por la Vida y la Familia” (“March for Life and Families”), estimated that 200,000 Catholic parishioners came by bus from all corners of the country to participate in a 1-kilometer march from San José’s Central Park to Sabana Park. The event comes one month after the Catholic Bishops of Costa Rica published the document “Rehabilitation of Politics,” which outlined eight ethics principles to follow when voting for a political candidate. Voters are encouraged to support candidates against abortion.

“This is an unprecedented event,” said priest Sergio Valverde, the main organizer of this march and director of the NGO Obras del Espíritu Santo (Works of the Holy Spirit). Father Valverde said that organizers of Sunday march asked political candidates to refrain from campaigning during this event.

“We want to honor life and to celebrate families because that is what is best for society,” Valverde said.

As part of the campaign season, Catholic priests in Costa Rica are urging parishioners to vote against candidates who support the legalization of abortion, in vitro fertilization and same-sex unions, reported the Spanish daily El País.